Author's Note: Hi again everyone. Still with me? Well done for sticking around so long! I promise it definitely won't be going on forever, even if it's starting to seem a little endless.

Anyway, a quick thanks to everyone who took the time to read to this point, whether you've been with me from the beginning or have only just found the story. Thanks to all who've followed and favourited this one, and especially to my reviewers. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with me. I love hearing from you all. :)

PikaWings: Yeah... :P Just like everyone else who's made an appearance in this story, Blaine's parents have totally figured out those two are so much more than 'just friends'. Like Blaine admitted to himself several chapters earlier... his parents are not stupid.

mykkila09: There was really no chance that I was ever gonna kill him off. I really struggle even reading stuff like that, and I could never do that to our darling Sebastian.

julia3132: Probably closer to one hundred percent. There have been a few I've seen that have wrapped seasons up beautifully, though they're definitely rare. And thanks. :) I'd say I'm happy to be back, but the UK is so pretty. I miss it already.

Gilgalen: Thanks very much. I'm really glad you enjoyed it. And yeah... I admit I quite liked that chapter too. I didn't much enjoy writing them when they weren't speaking to one another. That was sad. :(

Darrinia: Welcome! Thanks! I'm really glad you liked it, and thanks for taking the time to read it (I know it's long). Looks like you came near the end again though. Only a few chapters left in this one. And no. They're definitely not just friends... haven't really been from the moment Blaine invited him to his place for Christmas.

RHatch89: Thanks! Yeah I admit I love them a lot too.

Jenifer Cullen: Thanks I'm glad you like it. And I hope I don't disappoint with the confession. It's definitely not too far off, I promise. :)

LightningFuryStrike13: *laughs* No, I would never. I totally wouldn't have blamed you one bit for hunting me down if I'd ended it there.

: Thanks very much. I'm really glad you've enjoyed it so much. I really hope you continue to do so. :) I admit I was a bit nervous when I started this fic, as it was my very first time writing anything for Glee... So I have to admit I'm really glad you like the characters as I wrote them.

Anyways, that's enough from me. You didn't come to listen to me prattle on, but to read the next chapter. So here it is...

It was hard and at the same time the easiest thing in the world to be there for Blaine after his accident. Harder still now that he was back at home.

Whilst he'd been recovering in the hospital there had frequently been nurses and doctors popping in and out of the room, the corridor outside always filled with the busy comings and goings of the ward. Now that Blaine was at home it was quite often that they found themselves alone together.

Everything that had passed before, that whole thing with Kurt, the lie and the kiss was forgiven but the topic had never been raised and they hadn't even come close to discussing it. Blaine, he assumed, feared the awkwardness of the conversation, or perhaps worried that the reminder might send him away again.

He...

Well... he wasn't entirely sure how to go about explaining to Blaine exactly how he felt and exactly what he wanted from their relationship – if they even still had one. Blaine seemed relatively open to small gestures and flirtations; didn't pull away from a light and affectionate touch. He seemed to respond to all of it quite positively.

But Blaine also had a habit of moving away, shifting slightly in his seat or on the bed should his touch linger. His eyes would flutter away if he tried holding the boy's gaze and any conversations coming close to touching on what they'd had before and he'd find a way to change the subject.

And sure, as hard as it was to not know once and for all where they stood or how Blaine felt, all of those difficulties were all swallowed up by the fact that just having Blaine in his life again, seeing those big dark eyes light up when he arrived, seeing the tug of that smile on his mouth... It was a reminder of everything that he'd almost lost and honestly at this point anything this boy asked of him...

How could he say no?

He wanted everything from Blaine. He wanted things he'd never had before with anyone else, but despite that, despite everything that he wanted, he was prepared to be whatever the other boy needed.

Because he couldn't lose him again.

The memory of that moment in the hospital, that first glimpse of Blaine lying unconscious, bruised, battered and broken in the bed, a tube helping him to breathe, keeping him alive... He'd never forget that awful image nor the horrible wash of dread that had swept through him at the sight for as long as he lived and for the very first time in his life he'd prayed, just in case it really did work; prayed that Blaine would be okay.

And he had been. His condition had quickly stabilised and they'd moved him to the recovery ward and after that it had just been a matter of waiting until he woke up.

And eventually he had.

That first sign of movement, the fluttering of those long dark lashes on his cheeks and he'd felt his stomach twist sharply, and then those big dark eyes had met his and he knew then and there that he'd never be able to abandon his friend again. If Blaine didn't feel as he did that was fine; he didn't care. He just needed the other boy in his life. However and as whatever Blaine needed. If Blaine just wanted to remain friends, if he had to push aside every little thing he wanted from this boy then he would do it without a second thought.

But he couldn't say goodbye to Blaine again.

"Hey Killer," he greeted the other boy as he stepped into the room to find them alone once again. And once again those big dark eyes lifted to find his, lighting up at the sight of him.

A reaction that really was far too addictive.

"Sebastian, hi!"

It's addictive quality aside, it was hard not to be flattered by the sheer pleasure Blaine obviously found in his company, and just how much he looked forward to seeing him every day. He struggled with keeping his hopes down whenever he saw it, knowing that it didn't mean anything. From what he knew of Blaine this was simply how he behaved around his friends; he was always pleased to see anyone who might show up. But maybe... just maybe...

He pushed the thoughts from his head, feeling Blaine's eyes on him as he moved through the room to flop heavily on the couch beside him.

"Long day?"

Blaine was very obviously amused by his behaviour and he flashed the other boy a grin. "Actually it was. Skylar came up with a brilliant idea for our next performance and it involves way too many moves that could be considered 'somewhat acrobatic'. Hunter's created a monster." He shrugged with a smile. "Of course it probably didn't help that immediately following that I had lacrosse practice, so yeah... I'm a bit wiped." He looked over, catching a look on Blaine's face that disappeared only moments later, but that had him frowning. Knowing the other boy as well as he did, he knew that he wouldn't bring it up on his own, so he confronted the issue head on. "What's wrong?"

But Blaine was shaking his head, a smile pulling at one corner of his mouth as if it didn't matter. Problem with his pretence of course was that Sebastian was familiar enough with his smiles by now to know that the expression was entirely put on.

When he smiled for real, those big dark eyes had a tendency to sparkle.

He didn't bring that up of course, instead just watching the boy for a moment, waiting for him to speak. When he didn't, he shook his head. "Blaine. Tell me. What is it?"

Blaine hesitated then, obviously unsure about how his comment might be received, before sighing heavily and shrugging his shoulders. "It's Regionals."

The very last thing he expected to hear from the other boy, Sebastian sat blinking in surprise a moment. "Regionals?" And when Blaine nodded his confirmation, Sebastian watched him a moment longer, trying to puzzle out exactly what was bothering his friend. "What about it?"

The other boy shrugged almost miserably, before indicating the cast on the leg he had propped up in front of them on the ottoman. The white cast had been liberally covered with get well messages and small drawings and sketches from his friends at McKinley – they'd finally realised exactly how petty they were being when they'd received news of his accident. The Warblers too had assisted in its decoration until there was hardly a blank space left on the whole thing.

"Your leg?" And when he remained confused, Blaine elaborated.

"I'm not going to be able to perform. The cast will be off by then, but only just." He shook his head. "With that and my ribs, I won't be able to do anything even remotely 'acrobatic'."

Sebastian just smiled, shaking his head with a smile. "God you're a dumbass. Of course you'll be able to perform. They're planning something special just for you for Regionals. We're hardly about to bench one of our best just because he did his damndest to get himself killed. Trust me, they've got it covered."

Blaine looked over at that, a smile creeping back onto his face only this time it was sincere, that familiar sparkle deep in those enormous eyes. "Oh."

"Yeah, 'oh'." Sebastian shot him a grin. "Anyway enough about that; how was your day?"

Blaine sighed then, his eyes shifting back to the cast on his leg. "Boring. Never thought I'd say it but I'm really missing school."

"You're back on Monday, right?"

He nodded, eyes shifting back to Sebastian's then, and his friend laughed at the obvious dismay in his eyes. "Feels too far away, huh?" And when he nodded again, Sebastian continued. "I suppose it's all well and good to decide it'd be awesome, but having time off when all your friends are at school... not so fun."

"Tell me about it." Blaine sighed, leaning back into the couch beside him, his shoulder brushing against his and he told himself to get a grip when he felt a frisson of desire skitter down his spine. "What're you doing this weekend?"

Sebastian just shrugged. "Nothing too exciting. My father's insisted I fly home to attend some political function at which he's making an appearance. Apparently their policies are all 'family-oriented'," he explained, making air quotes with his fingers. "And my presence is required."

"Oh." And there it was again, Blaine's face adopting that closed expression that suggested he was uncomfortable. Sebastian was about to ask what it was when Blaine continued. "You'll be seeing Justin then?"

The faint hint of jealousy in his voice caused a flutter of hope deep in Sebastian's stomach where he squashed it moments later. It didn't mean anything. It was just Blaine being adorably uncomfortable with casual relationships; apparently he wasn't so good at sharing. "I will, yeah." And when Blaine's face fell, Sebastian decided to clear the air. "Blaine, nothing happened."

Startled, Blaine looked over sharply at the quiet pronouncement. "What?"

Sebastian shrugged, looking away. "Nothing happened that night with Justin. We just talked. A lot and about everything, but we just talked. Nothing happened, I promise."

For a long time Blaine just looked at him; he seemed uncertain and obviously didn't have any idea how to respond to the sudden information. Eventually however his eyes moved away, looking at a point somewhere distant and he nodded. Sebastian thought he saw the barest hint of a smile on his face as it turned away, but he couldn't be sure.

"Anyway, it's bound to be boring as all hell; my father is likely to parade me around as the good little son I'm definitely not, but whatever. It'll keep him off my case for a few more months, right?" And when Blaine nodded, his eyes moving back to his, he asked, "How about you? How's your weekend looking?"

Blaine just shrugged at that. "Sam said he might stop by if he can get away, but besides that not a whole lot. Cooper's getting in next weekend so that's something I guess."

"Guess I'll need to surrender my key then?"

"His key, he made a point of saying, and asked why the hell we'd trust you with the spare key. Pointed out that you're more likely to throw a rowdy party whilst the parents are out than not."

Sebastian grinned. "How well your brother understands me." Fact was, Sebastian had made that very same point when Michael Anderson had offered him the spare key in the first place. The man had simply smiled, shaken his head and offered him the key without a word. He wasn't sure what to think of the trust the man had shown in him and he hadn't had a witty remark to offer.

Later of course he'd joked with Blaine how utterly hilarious it was that anyone trusted him with keys to their house, giving his friend a few key examples as to why this was a horrible idea. Not least on the list of course being the number of times he'd climbed through Blaine's bedroom window in the middle of the night; he was sure had Michael Anderson known about those, and about what they'd gotten up to on those occasions, he'd have been more likely to have him thrown from the house than give him a key to it.

Truthfully though, he had a feeling that Michael had known exactly what he was doing when he gave him that key; that just the fact that he'd put that kind of faith in him at all inspired the desire in him not to abuse the privilege. It was a decision that was assisted in great part by the fact that his relationship with Blaine was on hold. Or over. He wasn't sure, but whatever it was, there was definitely no sneaking into the other boy's bedroom in the middle of the night as had been his wont in the past.

Still, even if their relationship – if you could have called it that – hadn't been over, Blaine's broken ribs kind of excluded him from any vigorous activity and the sex between the two of them had never been anything but.

"So what's the plan for the rest of the afternoon?" he asked then, green eyes wandering over the face of the other boy as Blaine turned back to face him.

"Nothing much," he answered with a shrug before indicating the TV with a nod of his head. "I was just about to put on a movie if you're interested?"

Sebastian nodded with a smile, settling back into the couch beside his friend and making himself comfortable. "Definitely. Count me in."

If he wasn't already one hundred percent sure of his feelings towards Sebastian, the weekend that followed would have more than convinced him. The first time he'd ever gone a full twenty four hours without seeing his friend since the accident and suddenly everything would have become so remarkably clear.

What also didn't help of course was the fact that whilst he wasn't here he would be back in Maryland with his father and... and Justin.

He wasn't sure what to think of the information that Sebastian had offered that afternoon, that nothing had happened between him and Justin that night the other guy had stayed over. His first instinct of course had been to not believe him, his jealousy insisting that of course he was lying when he said that. Of course something had happened with Justin. How could it not have given the sort of boy Sebastian was and the fact that he and Justin had such history? They'd been in love once, Sebastian had told him, or as close to it as two young teens could get when they didn't know a thing about love. A strong affection definitely, and something that could, after years apart, have grown into something more.

But Justin had gone home, disappeared sometime in those ten days that he'd been unconscious in the hospital, and Sebastian hadn't mentioned him once since then. It had been he who'd brought him up, his insecurities getting the better of him and encouraging Sebastian's assurance. Nothing had happened. They'd just talked and he knew it was the truth, because Sebastian would never lie to him.

He knew it. Didn't know how he knew it; there were enough lies in their past to make anyone doubt it, but he knew that now, after everything that had happened, after the time spent together first in the hospital and now here at his home, that Sebastian would never lie to him.

And so he had to believe him; had to believe him when he said that nothing had happened with Justin, had to believe the subtle suggestion that he wasn't interested in reconciling with the other guy. That Justin was nothing more than a part of his past he'd left behind in Maryland.

"Hey Bro... what, am I talking to myself here?"

Blaine looked up, pulled from his thoughts by Sam's words and a faint smile pulled at his mouth as he shook his head. "I'm here. Sorry Sam."

"What's up with you, dude? You're all over the place."

"It's nothing," he assured his friend with a shake of his head. "Not a big deal."

Sam just looked at him curiously for a moment before shaking his head. "If it's what I think it is, it is a huge deal, dude." And when Blaine looked at him curiously, he shook his head with a smile. "You really like the guy, Anderson. As much as we didn't want it to happen and as much as you fought the idea, you really like him."

"Sam..."

"No, don't 'Sam' me. I'm not stupid and I sure as hell am not blind. First the whole 'just friends' schtick, then the wedding and that romantic song, then of course that whole angst drama-fest you guys had going for a while... Blaine that's not normal. That's not what 'just friends' in casual relationships do to one another. And they sure as hell aren't there for them after a massive traffic accident. That's usually the time casual relationships get scarce, but Sebastian..." He shrugged. "The dude likes you, Bro."

"He doesn't, Sam. He's..."

"Just being a good friend; I know you told me, but Blaine... he's really not." When Blaine opened his mouth to argue, Sam was shaking his head again. "Don't be an idiot, Anderson. You wait too long to say anything and eventually that's all gonna go away."

For a moment Blaine couldn't find anything to say, was just staring at his friend in silence as he tried to wrap his mind around exactly what he was telling him. But no... Sam was wrong. They were just friends. They'd only ever been just friends, and then friends with benefits, but even that part of their relationship was over.

"He's not gonna wait around forever."

"Sam, he's not waiting for anything. He's just being there for a friend, like I would be there for him or for you if God forbid anything happened to either of you." He shook his head. "There's no subtext, no feelings involved, nothing below the surface here. Not for him."

"But for you?"

"That's different."

Sam sighed. "How is that different Blaine? You have all these feelings for the guy that you haven't told him about. He has no clue how you feel right?"

"Right."

"Well then why can't it be the same for him? Why can't he have feelings that he's hidden from you? Maybe after that whole stunt you pulled, leaving with Kurt at the wedding," and he shook his head in dismay – it was still very obvious what he thought of that. "Maybe he's understandably hesitant to bring it up?"

"He doesn't see me that way, Sam."

"How do you know?"

"Sam... look, can we just... talk about something else? Please?" His voice was weary and for a moment Sam hesitated before nodding his head, holding his hands up to indicate he was backing off; surrendering the point.

"Fine. What'd you want to talk about?"

Blaine just shook his head. "Anything. Tell me anything."

"Did you hear Brittany got into MIT?"